Ratchet tie down

ABSTRACT

Provided is a ratchet tie down including a main body portion, a reel assembly rotatable relative to the main body portion, a first sprocket surrounding the reel assembly, a second sprocket surrounding the reel assembly, at least one first noise reduction disk, at least one second noise reduction disk, and a release pawl biased in a locked position to land on the noise reduction disks to dampen the sound as the release pawl engages teeth of the sprockets.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/060,563, filed Oct. 1, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,305,685, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/987,850, now U.S.Pat. No. 10,836,299, filed May 23, 2018, which claims the benefit ofU.S. Provisional Application No. 62/509,878 filed May 23, 2017, all ofwhich are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a ratchet tie down forattachment to an object.

BACKGROUND

A ratchet tie down can be used to secure a wide variety of objects tovarious support surfaces and/or to various other objects. A ratchet tiedown has a ratcheting mechanism and a webbing with at least oneextendable end. In one example, a ratchet tie down can include twowebbing assemblies, including one webbing assembly of a fixed,non-extendable length and another webbing assembly that is extendable tomake the ratchet tie down adjustable to a wide variety of lengths. Thedistal ends of both webbing assemblies can be attached to suitableanchor points on an object or surface. The ratcheting mechanism can thenbe used to remove any slack in the webbing assemblies and apply tensionto ensure that the object to be secured is retained securely.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present application provides a ratchet tie down including a mainbody portion, a reel assembly rotatable relative to the main bodyportion, a first sprocket surrounding the reel assembly, a secondsprocket surrounding the reel assembly, at least one first noisereduction disk, at least one second noise reduction disk, and a releasepawl biased in a locked position to land on the noise reduction disks todampen the sound as the release pawl engages teeth of the sprockets.

According to an embodiment, a ratchet tie down is provided that includesa main body portion having a base and first and second sides extendingfrom the base, a reel assembly rotatable relative to the main bodyportion, a handle assembly rotatable relative to the main body portion,the handle assembly including first and second rail arms spaced from oneanother and a handle attached to the first and second rail arms, a firstsprocket through which the reel assembly extends, the first sprocketdisposed between the first side of the main body portion and the firstrail arm and including a plurality of teeth, a second sprocket throughwhich the reel assembly extends, the second sprocket disposed betweenthe second side of the main body portion and the second rail arm andincluding a plurality of teeth, at least one first noise reduction diskthrough which the reel assembly extends, the at least one first noisereduction disk positioned adjacent to the first sprocket between thefirst side of the main body portion and the first rail arm; at least onesecond noise reduction disk through which the reel assembly extends, theat least one second noise reduction disk positioned adjacent to thesecond sprocket between the second side of the main body portion and thesecond rail arm, and a release pawl movable from a locked position to anunlocked position, the release pawl being biased in the locked positionto land on the noise reduction disks and engage the teeth of the firstand second sprockets.

According to another embodiment, a ratchet tie down is provided thatincludes a main body portion, a reel assembly rotatable relative to themain body portion, a handle assembly having first and second rail armsrotatable relative to the main body portion, a first sprocketsurrounding the reel assembly between the main body portion and thefirst rail arm, a second sprocket surrounding the reel assembly betweenthe main body portion and the second rail arm, at least one first noisereduction disk adjacent to the first sprocket between the main bodyportion and the first rail arm, at least one second noise reduction diskadjacent to the second sprocket between the main body portion and thesecond rail arm, and a release pawl biased in a locked position to landon the noise reduction disks and engage teeth of the sprockets.

According to still another embodiment, a ratchet tie down is providedthat includes a main body portion having a base and first and secondsides extending from the base, a reel assembly rotatable relative to themain body portion, a handle assembly rotatable relative to the main bodyportion, the handle assembly including first and second rail arms spacedfrom one another and a handle attached to the first and second railarms, the first and second rail arms each including an overmolded bumpercovering at least a portion of a periphery of the rail arms, a firstsprocket through which the reel assembly extends, the first sprocketdisposed between the first side of the main body portion and the firstrail arm and including a plurality of teeth, a second sprocket throughwhich the reel assembly extends, the second sprocket disposed betweenthe second side of the main body portion and the second rail arm andincluding a plurality of teeth, a release pawl movable from a lockedposition to an unlocked position.

The foregoing and other features of the application are described belowwith reference to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary ratchet tie down.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the ratchet tie down.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the ratchet tie down.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the ratchet tie down.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the ratchet tie down.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the ratchet tie down.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a main body portion of the ratchet tiedown.

FIG. 8 is a top view of the ratchet tie down in a second position.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken about line 9-9 in FIG. 8 .

FIG. 10 is a top view of the ratchet tie down in a third position.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken about line 11-11 in FIG. 10 .

FIG. 12 is a top view of the ratchet tie down in a fourth position.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken about line 13-13 in FIG. 12 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning initially to FIGS. 1-6 , a ratchet tie down is shown generallyat reference numeral 10. The ratchet tie down 10 includes a main bodyportion 12, a reel assembly 14, a lever arm assembly 16, a release pawl18, and a lock pawl 20. The ratchet tie down is shown generally in astorage position where a first webbing 22 (FIG. 9 ) can be wound aboutthe reel assembly 14.

Referring additionally to FIG. 7 , the main body portion 12 has a base30 and first and second sides 32 and 34 extending from the base 30. Thebase includes an upward projection 36 configured to serve as a springseat and has an opening 38 for receiving a projection 40 of the lockpawl 20. Each of the first and second sides 32 and 34 includes arespective opening 42, 44 through which the reel assembly 14 extends anda respective slot 46, 48 through which respective arms 50, 52 of thelock pawl 20 extends. The sides 32 and 34 also each have a stop 54, 56to inhibit movement of the lever arm assembly 16, one or more detents58, 60 spaced from the stop 54, 56, and a respective opening 62, 64through which a webbing pin 66 extends to attach a second webbing to themain body portion 12.

Referring now to the reel assembly 14, the reel assembly 14 is disposedwithin the main body portion 12 and includes ends extending through theopenings 42 and 44 in the first and second sides 32 and 34. The reelassembly 14 may be one piece or may include multiple pieces, such as thefirst and second reel elements 70 and 72 as shown. The reel elements 70and 72 are attached to one another by fasteners 74, such as the pins asshown, that are received in first and second openings 76 and 78 atopposite ends of each of the reel elements 70 and 72. The first andsecond openings 76 and 78 are provided at the ends such that theopenings 76 and 78 are outside of a respective arm rail of the lever armassembly to receive the pins 74 outside of the rails.

End caps 80 can be attached to the reel elements 70 and 72 formaintaining positioning of the reel elements 70 and 72. For example,either or both of the end caps 80 can include apertures 82 and 84extending partially into or completely therethrough for receiving aportion of the reel elements 70 and 72. The apertures 82 and 84 can bespaced a distance apart, such as by an intermediate wall 86, to spacethe reel elements 70 and 72 a distance apart from each other to form areel aperture 88 sized and shaped for the first webbing 22 to extendthrough as shown in FIG. 9 . The end caps 80 can include one or moreopening for receiving the pins 74, and as illustrated an opening 90 atthe tops, an opening 92 at the bottoms, and an opening 94 in the walls86 of the ends caps for receiving the pins 74. In an embodiment, the endcaps 80 can have detents that engage in the openings 76 and 78 in thereel assembly 14. The end caps can each also include a bushing sectiondisposed in the respective opening in the arm rails of the lever armassembly 16 to serve as a bushing between the reel elements 70 and 72and the arm rails.

To wind the first webbing 22 about the reel assembly 14, the ratchet tiedown device 10 includes a pair of sprockets 100 having a plurality ofratchet teeth 102. As shown the sprockets 100 include more teeth thanconventional ratchets, for example fifteen teeth, that provide for finetuning adjustments to the tie down. Each sprocket 100 also includesopenings 104 and 106 extending therethrough for receiving a portion ofthe reel elements 70 and 72 and a plurality of circumferentially spacedopenings 108 providing weight reduction. The openings 104 and 106 can bespaced a distance apart, such as by an intermediate wall 110, to spacethe reel elements 70 and 72 a distance apart from each other.

The ratchet tie down 10 also includes one or more noise reduction disk,and as shown a pair of noise reduction disks 120 and 122 on oppositesides of each sprocket 100. The noise reduction disks 120 and 122 may bemade of a suitable soft material to dampen the sound of the release pawl18 and lock pawl 20 as they move into engagement the with teeth 102towards roots 124 of the teeth 102. The release pawl 18 and lock pawl 20therefore land on the noise reduction disks 120 and 122 and compress thedisks and then are engaged by the teeth 102 to prevent movement. Thenoise reduction disks 120 and 122 thereby each have an outer diametergreater than a diameter of the sprockets 100 at the roots 124 of theteeth 102.

When assembled, one of the sprockets 100 and the respective noisereduction disks 120 and 122 surround the reel assembly 14 between thefirst side 32 of the main body portion 12 and the respective arm rail ofthe lever arm assembly 16, and the other of the sprockets 100 and therespective noise reduction disks 120 and 122 surround the reel assembly14 between the second side 34 of the main body portion 12 and therespective arm rail of the lever arm assembly 16. The sprockets 100 arerotatable relative to the main body portion 12 when the release pawl 18is in the locked position generally together with the lever arm assembly16.

Referring now to the lever arm assembly 16, the lever arm assembly 16 isrotatable relative to the main body portion 12 to various positions,such as the positions shown in FIGS. 8-13 as discussed in detail below.The lever arm assembly 16 includes first and second lever arm rails 130and 132 and a handle 134 attached to the rails 130 and 132. The handle134 can include a knurled surface for gripping by a user, and includesflanged portion 136 at either ends and openings 138 extendingtherethrough. The first and second lever arm rails 130 and 132 eachinclude a respective opening 140, 142 that aligns with the respectiveopening 42, 44 in the main body portion 12 for the reel assembly 14 toextend through, a slot 144, 146 through which a respective arm of therelease pawl 18 extends, and an opening 148, 150 that receives theflanged portion 136 of the handle 134 and a respective handle lock cap152.

Each slot 144 and 146 includes a respective first portion 154, 156 thatreceives a respective arm 158, 160 of the release pawl 18, and arespective second portion 162, 164 that receives the respective arm 158,160 of the release pawl 18 and a biasing member, such as spring 166 thatbiases the release pawl 18 in a locked position. A spring seat 168, 170is formed in each lever arm rail 130, 132 for receiving one end of therespective spring 166 in the slot 144, 146, and a spring seat 172, 174is formed the arms 158 and 160 of the release pawl 18 for receiving theother end of the respective spring 166. Each lever arm rail 130 and 132includes a projection 176, 178 extending into the respective secondportion 162, 164 of the slot that extends partially through the spring166 to hold the spring 166 in position.

The first and second lever arm rails 130 and 132 can each include abumper 180 around edges thereof, such as a rubber or plastic bumper thatmay be attached in any suitable manner, such as by overmolding. Thebumpers 180 prevent or reduce wear and damage to cargo and/or thevehicle caused by ratchets contacting the cargo/vehicle, such as due tovibration or movement during loading. The bumpers 180 also reduce oreliminate damages to the edges of the lever arm rails 130 and 132. Thelever arms rails 130 and 132 can also include one or more cutoutsextending partially or completely through the lever arms.

To attach the handle 134 to the lever arm rails 130 and 132, the handle134 is positioned between the first and second lever arm rails 130 and132 with the flanged portions 136 positioned within the openings 148 and150. The handle lock caps 152 are then inserted through the openings 148and 150 in the lever arm rails 130 and 132 and into the openings 138 inthe handle 134 extending through the flanged portions 136. The handlelock caps 152 can include one or more protrusions 182, and as shown aplurality of circumferentially spaced protrusions 182 that create aninterference fit between the lock caps 152 and the handle 134.

Referring now to the release pawl 18, the release pawl 18 includes abody 190 having the arms 158 and 160 and a handle 192 extending upwardfrom the body 190 for a user to grasp to move the release pawl 18 fromthe locked position to an unlocked position. The release pawl 18 canhave a weight limit integrated therein as shown in FIG. 6 to provide apermanent indication of the working load limit. As noted above, thespring seats 172 and 174 are formed in each arm 158, 160 to seat an endof one of the springs 166, and a back side of each arm includes aprojection 194, 196 extending partially through the spring 166 to holdthe spring in position. The handle 192 is not directly in line with thesprings 166 which reduces play between the release pawl 18 and the slotto reduce noise, and the springs 166 urge the pawl 18 toward thesprocket center.

The arms 158 and 160 of the release pawl 18 are biased by the springs166 to engage with the sprockets 100 and the noise reduction disks 120and 122 to drive rotation of the sprockets 100 to wind the first webbing22 about the reel assembly 14. When the lever arm assembly 16 is rotatedtoward the reel assembly 14 with the release pawl 18 in the lockedposition, the arms 158 and 160 will be in contact with the teeth 102 anddrive the rotation of the sprockets 100 to wind the first webbing 22about the reel assembly 14. The lever arm assembly 16 can be moved untilthe release pawl engages the stops 54 and 56. To move the lever armassembly 16 past the stops 54 and 56, the user pulls the release pawl 18against the springs 166 to lift the arms 158 and 160 over the stops 54and 56 to allow movement toward the detents 58 and 60. When the leverarm assembly 16 is rotated in the opposite direction, the resilient biasof release pawl 18 will permit the arms 158 and 160 to move past theteeth 102 without causing rotation of the sprockets 100.

Referring now to the lock pawl 20, the lock pawl 20 includes a body 200having the arms 50 and 52, a spring seat 202 to seat an end of a spring204, and the projection 40 extending partially through the spring 204 tohold the spring 204 in position. The projection 40 extends through theopening 38 in the upward projection 36 of the base 30 to allow the lockpawl 18 to be guided by and held in position relative to the base 30.

The arms 50 and 52 of the lock pawl 20 are biased by the spring 204 to alocked position to engage with the sprockets 100 and the noise reductiondisks 120 and 122 to inhibit unwinding of the first webbing 22 about thereel assembly 14. When the lever arm assembly 16 is rotated relative tothe main body portion 12 from a first position shown in FIG. 1 toward asecond position while the release pawl is in the locked position, thelock pawl 20 is moved from the locked position by the teeth 102 untilthe arms 50 and 52 have passed the teeth 102 and are moved by the spring204 to the locked position. When the lever arm assembly 16 is rotated inthe opposite direction or when stationary, the lock pawl 20 will preventrotation of the sprockets in the opposite direction. When it is desiredto unwind the first webbing 22, the lever assembly 16 can be positionedsuch that cams 210 on the lever arm rails 130 and 132 engage the lockpawl 20 to disengage the lock pawl 20 from the teeth 102 of thesprockets 100.

Referring now to FIGS. 8-13 , the lever arm assembly 16 can be rotatablebetween various positions, such as the storage position or firstposition shown in FIG. 1 , a second position shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 , athird position shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 , and a fourth position shown inFIGS. 12 and 13 .

When it is desired to wind the first webbing 22 about the reel assembly14 in an incremental manner, a user can utilize the lever arm assembly16, sprockets 100, and the release pawl 18 to drive the rotation of thereel assembly 14. To drive the sprockets 100, the user can move thelever arm assembly 16 relative to the main body portion 12, from thefirst position shown in FIG. 1 to the second position shown in FIG. 9 ,to the third position shown in FIG. 11 , and then to the fourth positionshown in FIG. 13 where the release pawl 18 contacts the stops 54 and 56,and back repeatedly until a desired retraction of the first webbing 22has been achieved. The user can wind the first webbing 22 about the reelassembly 14 in an incremental manner to remove slack from the firstwebbing 22 and/or to gradually apply tension to the first webbing 22 forsecuring an object or the like. By providing an increased tooth count onthe sprockets 100, the tensioning can be fine-tuned.

When it is desired to unwind the first webbing 22, a user can move therelease pawl 18 against the springs 166 to disengage the arms 158 and160 from the teeth and move the release pawl 18 over the stops 54 and 56towards the detents 58 and 60. When the release pawl is released and thesprings 166 move the release pawl to its biased position, the releasepawl will be trapped within the detents 58 and 60 until the release pawl18 is moved against the springs 166. When the release pawl 18 is trappedwithin the detents 58 and 60, the cams 210 on the lever arm rails 130and 132 engage the lock pawl 20 to disengage the lock pawl 20 from theteeth 102 of the sprockets 100.

Although certain embodiments have been shown and described, it isunderstood that equivalents and modifications falling within the scopeof the appended claims will occur to others who are skilled in the artupon the reading and understanding of this specification.

What is claimed is:
 1. A ratchet tie down comprising: a main bodyportion; a reel assembly rotatable relative to the main body portion;first and second springs; a handle assembly rotatable relative to themain body portion, the handle assembly including a first rail arm havinga first slot for receiving the first spring and a first projectionextending into the first slot and extending partially through the firstspring, and a second rail arm having a second slot for receiving thesecond spring and a second projection extending into the second slot andextending partially through the first spring; and a release pawlincluding a body having a first arm received in the first slot in thefirst rail arm and a second arm received in the second slot of thesecond rail arm, wherein the release pawl is biased in a locked positionby the first and second springs.
 2. The ratchet tie down according toclaim 1, where the first rail arm has a first spring seat for receivinga first end of the first spring, and the second rail arm has a secondspring seat for receiving a first end of the second spring.
 3. Theratchet tie down according to claim 2, wherein a third spring seat isformed in the first arm for receiving a second end of the first springand a fourth spring seat formed in the second arm for receiving a secondend of the second spring.
 4. The ratchet tie down according to claim 1,further including a first sprocket through which the reel assemblyextends and a second sprocket through which the reel assembly extends.5. The ratchet tie down according to claim 4, wherein the first andsecond arms each have a front side for engaging the respective firstsprocket or second sprocket and a backside having a projection thatextends into the respective first spring or second spring that biasesthe release pawl in the locked position.
 6. The ratchet tie downaccording to claim 4, further including at least one first noisereduction disk adjacent the first sprocket and at least one second noisereduction disk adjacent the second sprocket.
 7. The ratchet tie downaccording to claim 1, wherein the first and second rail arms eachinclude an overmolded bumper covering at least fifty percent of aperiphery of the respective rail arm.
 8. A ratchet tie down comprising:a main body portion; a handle assembly rotatable relative to the mainbody portion, the handle assembly including first and second rail arms;a first bumper attached to and covering at least fifty percent of aperiphery of the first rail arm; a second bumper attached to andcovering at least fifty percent of a periphery of the second rail arm; areel assembly rotatable relative to the main body portion and extendingthrough an end portion of each of the first and second rail arms; afirst sprocket through which the reel assembly extends, a secondsprocket through which the reel assembly extends, and a release pawlmovable from a locked position to an unlocked position, and each of thefirst and second bumpers extend at least partially around the respectiveend portions of the first and second rail arms.
 9. The ratchet tie downaccording to claim 8, wherein the main body portion has a base and firstand second sides extending from the base, wherein the first sprocket isdisposed between the first side of the main body portion and the firstrail arm and the second sprocket is disposed between the second side ofthe main body portion and the second rail arm.
 10. The ratchet tie downaccording to claim 8, further including at least one first noisereduction disk adjacent the first sprocket and at least one second noisereduction disk adjacent the second sprocket.
 11. The ratchet tie downaccording to claim 8, wherein the handle assembly includes a handle witha knurled surface and flanged portions on either end that are receivedin openings in the first and second rail arms.
 12. The ratchet tie downaccording to claim 11, wherein the handle assembly further includes apair of handle lock caps each having a plurality of circumferentiallyspaced protrusions that are received in openings in the flanged portionsto secure the handle to the rail arms.
 13. The ratchet tie downaccording to claim 8, wherein the release pawl includes a body havingarms each with a front side for engaging a respective one of the firstand second sprockets and a backside having a projection that extendsinto a respective biasing member that biases the release pawl in thelocked position.
 14. The ratchet tie down according to claim 13, whereinthe first and second rail arms each include a slot extendingtherethrough for receiving a respective one of the arms of the releasepawl, wherein each of the slots includes a first portion that receivesthe respective arm, and a second portion that receives the respectivearm and the respective biasing member.
 15. The ratchet tie downaccording to claim 14, wherein the first and second rail arms eachinclude a projection extending into the respective second portion thatextends partially through the respective biasing member.
 16. A ratchettie down comprising: a main body portion; a reel assembly disposed at anend portion of the main body portion and rotatable relative to the mainbody portion; first and second springs; a handle assembly rotatablerelative to the main body portion, the handle assembly including firstand second rail arms each disposed at the end portion of the main bodyportion and including an overmolded bumper attached thereto and coveringat least fifty percent of a periphery of the respective rail arm and atleast partially around an end portion of each rail arm; and a releasepawl biased in a locked position by the first and second springs. 17.The ratchet tie down according to claim 16, wherein the first rail armhas a first slot for receiving the first spring and the second rail armhas a second slot for receiving the second spring.
 18. The ratchet tiedown according to claim 16, where the first rail arm has a first springseat for receiving a first end of the first spring, and the second railarm has a second spring seat for receiving a first end of the secondspring.
 19. The ratchet tie down according to claim 18, wherein a thirdspring seat is formed in the release pawl for receiving a second end ofthe first spring and a fourth spring seat formed in the release pawl forreceiving a second end of the second spring.
 20. The ratchet tie downaccording to claim 16, further including a first sprocket through whichthe reel assembly extends and a second sprocket through which the reelassembly extends, wherein the release pawl includes a body having afirst and second arms each have a front side for engaging the respectivefirst sprocket or second sprocket and a backside having a projectionthat extends into the respective first spring or second spring.